Dear Friends,
As we’ve been growing into our Preservation Archaeology mission and practice over the years, advocacy has grown in importance at Archaeology Southwest.
Our current work to promote a Great Bend of the Gila National Conservation Area (NCA) has consumed much of my time over the past year. And much staff time. And we are fortunate to join many partners in this effort.
The Great Bend of the Gila is a large cultural and natural landscape along the lower Gila River.
We have expanded our coalition of supporters who share this goal of adding greater protections to these public lands.
And we have encountered groups in opposition.
As we approach a new year, we are recommitted to cultivating a community-based, collaborative approach to our advocacy. Last week, I was one of three Great Bend supporters at a Gila Bend Town Council meeting. We listened—and took careful notes—while community members expressed their concerns about a Great Bend NCA.
Although we spoke briefly in the public forum, the true interaction took place in the hallway, after the formal agenda was completed. We and members of the community exchanged personal experiences. We discussed specific issues.
Standing and speaking face to face, we opened a dialogue, a pathway to communication. Our next steps are to return and sit down at a table together to pour over maps and consider details. Our goal is to solve problems, not just stake out positions.
Collaboration brings me hope as we enter a new year.
What’s motivating you as we head into 2023?
President & CEO, Archaeology Southwest
P.S. We’re taking the holidays off. We’ll be back in your inbox on January 4!
Record Funding Levels for US Conservation Projects
As the country takes stock of what President Biden has done in the past two years, it’s clear that he has made progress on his conservation legacy. In fact, Biden has distributed more funds for land conservation than any previous president in the same time span and has protected—or is in the process of protecting—more than 12 million acres of treasured landscapes. … In these two years alone, Biden’s Department of the Interior has channeled more than $10.7 billion to federal, state, local, and Tribal land conservation efforts—not to mention the significant new funding for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation programs and the $2.6 billion in funds from the Inflation Reduction Act for coastal restoration, which were not accounted for in this analysis. Center for American Progress | Read more »
Restoring Southern New Mexico’s Historic Acequia Systems
Empty, muddy banks in southern New Mexico show where the Mimbres River should be flowing. But flooding off the Black Fire burn scar was so intense in August that the water carved a new path, its new stream now littered with burnt, broken trees and destroyed irrigation debris. Many farmers and ranchers in southern New Mexico living near the Gila National Forest rely on acequias that are now completely filled up with silt and debris from the fire, preventing them from controlling the flow of water entering their irrigation systems. Danny Roybal is one of the people that uses the channels. He’s retired, save for the work he does every day as a mayordomo. Megan Gleason for Source NM | Read more »
Earth Notes: Hopi Trails
Ancient foot trails radiate out from the Hopi mesas like the spokes of a wheel. One of these is known as the Palat’kwapi Trail, and it traverses through landscapes rich in Hopi history. Heading south from the mesas, the trail passes through the Triassic-aged layers of the Painted Desert, leading to the ancient settlements of Homol’ovi located along the Little Colorado River. From here, the trail moves southwest, crossing open grasslands, toward the ancestral Hopi village of Chavez Pass. Lyle Balenquah for KNAU (NPR) | Listen now or read more »
Blog: Remodeling the Pithouse at the Huhugam Ki Museum
On Saturday, November 5, I drove up to the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community in Scottsdale for the Huhugam Ki Museum’s anniversary celebration. My job was to help remodel the replica historical pithouse we’d built together four years ago. During previous treatment in 2020, we added more arrowweed to the exterior and cleaned rodent disturbance from the interior. At this time, however, we needed to fix a slumped section of the southwestern corner of the structure, and we needed to replace the arrowweed, as well. Allen Denoyer at the Preservation Archaeology blog (Archaeology Southwest) | Read more »
Allen is offering new Hands-On Archaeology classes for winter–spring 2023 »
Podcast: The Utes as a Forgotten People
Host Jessica Yaquinto welcomes Ernest House, Jr. (Ute Mountain Ute), Senior Policy Director for the Keystone Policy Center and former Executive Director for the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs (CCIA). Ernest talks about his experiences working for CCIA, including their efforts in collaboration with 48 tribes associated with the state of Colorado to develop a statewide repatriation policy and his work to support the Cheyenne and Arapaho Nations’ ongoing efforts to commemorate the Sand Creek Massacre. Ernest also discusses the importance of public education on Indigenous topics, as well as land co-management with Tribes and the Land Back movement. Heritage Voices | Listen now »
Podcast: Protecting the Sonoran Desert
With guest Tom Sheridan and host Jeff Banister. Sheridan has also been a longtime student of ranching and ranch lands in southern Arizona, which led him, starting in the 1990s, to participate in the development of Pima County’s Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan, the SDCP, one of the most innovative and successful county-led conservation efforts in the United States. Tom is currently researching and writing a book on the SDCP, including on the larger land-use and conservation dynamics shaping the region starting in the late 20th century, a convergence of forces that led to the successful development and implementation of the Plan. Journal of the Southwest Radio | Listen now »
Video: Reaffirming UA’s Legacy as the Premiere Desert Science Institution in the World
With Gary Nabhan. In his last on-campus lecture, Nabhan gathered with friends and “prickly peers” to review 40 years of involvement with desert sciences and acknowledge the University of Arizona’s role as a world leader in the field. His talk was followed by comments from Chuck Hutchinson, David Quanrud & Aaron Flesch. UArizona’s president, Robert C. Robbins, attended the lecture and shared his thoughts with the audience. The Southwest Center, University of Arizona | Watch now »
Video Travelogue: Sonora Querida
Our first Southwest Center Travel Series adventure, Sonora Querida, was hugely successful. Under the guidance of Bill Steen, Tom Sheridan, and Jeff Banister, we explored and celebrated Sonoran history and culture through lectures, field trips, and cooking demonstrations. We met and talked with Sonoran farmers, ranchers, and mezcaleros and shared their food, music, history, and knowledge. In short, we experienced a way of life that has flourished for four centuries—a way of life based on living with rivers, not damming or destroying them. The Southwest Center, University of Arizona | Watch now »
Still Time to Register! The Southwest Symposium, Jan. 5–7, 2023
The Southwest Symposium is less than three weeks away! Although Early Registration is over, you can still register online for the conference. We will also have on-site registration, but we appreciate attendees registering online before the conference, so that we can make sure to have plenty of food at the reception and coffee and beverages during the sessions. Excited to see everyone in Santa Fe in January! Southwest Symposium Archaeological Conference | Take care of it now »
Call for Proposals: Research and Travel Grants
AAHS entertains proposals for Research and Travel Grant Awards each year between January 1 and February 15, 2023. Membership in AAHS is required and all members are eligible to apply. AAHS Research Grants up to the amount of $1,000 are awarded annually. Travel grants are also available in amounts up to $500 to support or present research. Research in archaeology, anthropology, history, or ethnology in the US Southwest and NW Mexico are considered. Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society | Learn more »
AAHS would also like to remind students that submissions to the annual Julian D. Hayden Paper Competition are due Jan. 13. »
Position Announcement: Museum Executive Director, Bloomington IN
We are pleased to announce an exceptional opportunity for a dynamic and forward-thinking cross-discipline museum professional to serve as Executive Director of the Indiana University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (IUMAA). Having just completed an $11M renovation, the new IUMAA combines two previous institutions on the Indiana University (IU) Bloomington campus, the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, and the Mathers Museum of World Cultures, both of which cared for and presented world-class collections of material culture. The IUMAA is also entrusted with the stewardship of Angel Mounds State Historic site following the Museum’s complete repatriation of native remains and an accompanying initiative to catalogue and preserve a trove of objects in ongoing conversation and collaboration with tribal nations and their descendants. The Museum is slated to open to the University and the public in the Fall of 2023. Indiana University | Learn more »
Position Announcement: Collections Manager, Museum of Natural History, Boulder CO
The University of Colorado Museum of Natural History invites applications to fill the position of Anthropology Collections Manager. The Collections Manager works collaboratively with the anthropology Curator(s), other Collections Manager, and collections staff in meeting the goals of the section as they apply to mission of the CU Museum of Natural History—contributing to the knowledge of the natural world and human history through research, teaching, and public education—as well as together serving as the stewards for the collections to in preservation and accessibility for future generations. University of Colorado Boulder | Learn more »
Position Announcement: Executive Director, Camp Naco AZ
We have celebrated the recent grant awards totaling $8.1 million for rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of historic Camp Naco. The City of Bisbee (Camp Naco Owner) is moving rapidly to hire a full-time, experienced Executive Director to move the Camp Naco effort forward. City of Bisbee | Learn more »
Job Opportunities: Seasonal Archaeologists, Mesa Verde National Park
Mesa Verde’s seasonal archeologist positions are currently on USAJobs. Our 6-month season runs from May through October. The two major projects we are hiring for are: Condition Assessment of alcove sites in Fewkes Canyon, and archeological survey and site recording in portions of the Long Mesa 2002 Burn Area that were not inventoried after the fire (approximately 600 acres). There are multiple openings for GS 6 and 7s. Learn more »
Jan. 9–Mar. 27 Online Class: Mogollon Archaeological Culture
With Allen Dart. Mondays from 6:30—8:30 p.m. Arizona Time, Dart presents a 12-session online adult education class on the Mogollon culture of the US Southwest. Topics include the history of Mogollon archaeology, Mogollon origins, the regional Mogollon branches, chronology of habitation, subsistence and settlement patterns, artifacts, rock art, religious and social organization, population movements, and descendant peoples. $99 donation per person. Register by January 5. Old Pueblo Archaeology Center | Learn more »
Jan. 10 Webinar: The Chinese Railroad Worker Experience in Terrace, Utah
With Christopher Merritt (Utah Department of Cultural & Community Engagement) and Karen Kwan (Utah House of Representatives; Salt Lake City Community College). Merritt and Kwan will discuss how the Bureau of Land Management, Utah State Historic Preservation Office, and other partners—together with the Chinese descendant community—have partnered over the last few years to investigate the historical and archaeological legacy of the Transcontinental Railroad in northwestern Utah. Two years of archaeological investigations at an abandoned railroad ghost town’s Chinatown have uncovered significant archaeological information and helped to connect living descendant communities to this important story. Archaeology Café (Archaeology Southwest) | More information and Zoom registration »
Jan. 12 Webinar: Documenting Landscapes of Protest
With Dr. Roneva Keel. Dr. Keel recently completed a study for the National Park Service (NPS) documenting the past and present of protest on the National Mall and other nearby parks. Her study explores how First Amendment activities in the National Capital Region have transformed the way citizens engage with the federal government. It also examines the role the National Park Service, as a steward of these lands, has played in shaping democracy in the 20th and 21st centuries. Living Landscape Observer | More information and Zoom registration »
Jan. 19 Webinar: Was Fremont a Southwestern Culture or a Great Basin Copycat?
With Dr. Katie Richards. Archaeologists have debated how to interpret the Fremont region to the north of the US Southwest because Fremont peoples showed connections to but isolation from their Puebloan neighbors. Dr. Richards argues Fremont is best understood as a northern periphery of the Southwest. Third Thursday Food for Thought series (Old Pueblo Archaeology Center) | More information and Zoom registration »
Please send us notice of upcoming webinars and Zoom lectures, tours and workshops, and anything else you’d like to share with the Friends.